4sevens
Flashlight Enthusiast
You'd better check when the specific manufacturing date the LED was made.
They made a massive recall at the beginning of this year.
Nitecore Gold Dragon plus?
- Thread starter SilentK
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They made a massive recall at the beginning of this year.
Are you sure? AFAIK Rebel has slightly better thermal resistance than GDP.
I have used Knight EVL Rebel 0100 for several months.
Quite reliable, this little boy at least will not turn into blue tint after sevel minutes.
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4sevens
Flashlight Enthusiast
I'll have to check the spec sheets again. When the rebel first came out I
was shocked at the thermal resistance but when I saw the LED construction
it was obvious why.
We have rebel 100's and 80's come back to us thatI have used Knight EVL Rebel 0100 for several months.
Quite reliable, this little boy at least will not turn into blue tint after sevel minutes.
have turned blue. Some
with splotches of blue on the yellow die. If you're thinking the GDP does that,
you may be confused with the pre-production sample. The production lights
do not do that. The only other LED that does that that I recall are the
Seoul P4's.
The beam pattern of GDP is very nice for EDC IMO. Its beam pattern may be not superior to Rebel, but is at least at par with Rebel.
However, the review by UnkownVT for the production GDP still showed that the tint of production GDP is cooler than Cree Q5.
This is what we are concerning.
Is it possible to use GDP LED with warmer tint at the cost of slightly reduced brightness?
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4sevens
Flashlight Enthusiast
Also, keep in mind that those pictures are NOT representative of all lights.
Even within the same bin there are variations. It is possible to get tint binned
LEDs but that just adds even more complication to the mix. Having a flux binned
LED is difficult enough. I will send feedback to nitecore about this - and request
perhaps a warmer bin, but if and when and whether it'll happen I cannot tell you.
(please don't ask
). If a warmer bin was use I'm sure we can't say what andhow long or what part of the batch will have it. It's just too much to track
and maintain inventory for and avoid overstocking of others.
edit: nothing to say
BabyDoc
Flashlight Enthusiast
I just got my GD NDI from 4Sevens. This isn't a review, but just my first impressions.
Don't worry about the beam. It isn't blue. Mine is warmer in fact than my LiteFlux LF5XT which is cool white. The beam in fact has a light yellow band surrounding the creamy white hotspot. This band blends seamlessly into the hotspot and into the surronding slightly cooler larger spill area. There is no black donut around the hotspot like with the old Q5; just the relatively wide yellow band which becomes hardly noticable at a distance of 10 feet or more.
(Sorry I am not a photographer. I wish I could give you beamshots)
Overall the smoothness of the beam is much improved over the old NDI Q5, but not quite as smooth, IMO, as the LF5XT. If it weren't for the light yellow band, I would probably say the GD was just as good.
As far as color rendition, I don't see much difference between the GD and the R2 or the Q5. They all do reasonably well except with reds, where they all seem to be lacking compared to my McGizmo Sundrop. Maximum brightness seems on the GD seems to be very close to the Q5 NDI. I used 14500 cells for all my comparisons, although I did try Eneloops to see if it caused any color shift in the outputs. It didn't.
There are some suprise improvements I didn't expect with the new Nitecore NDI:
1. There is much more aggressive knurling on the new GD NDI. I don't have a D10 with which to compare, but I'll bet it is close.
2. The threads are much improved; much smoother; now anodized. Mine was even properly lubed.
3. The contact area on the inside of the head is now like that found on the D10/Ex10. Instead of a fixed contact on the board, it has the floating brass ring contact supported by a spring. I guess this will increase the life of the light by avoiding too much direct pressure on the board and its previously fixed contact area by the tightening of the head. The only problem I found from this arrangement is it seems easier to get the light to accidentally strobe as you switch into user definded mode, particularly if you loosen the head slowly. If you always remember to loosen quickly, no problems. I twisted the ring a bit to see if this would fix this problem; no luck.
4. The switch appears the same but seems much firmer and sturdier than the old Q5 switch. Still, they give you a spare. Previously, they gave 2 spares.
5. Because the GD is much smaller than the Q5 emitter, the reflector cone seems a bit deeper since the cut out for the LED at the end of the cone is smaller,too. However, there is no noticeable difference in spill between the new and the old.
Don't worry about the beam. It isn't blue. Mine is warmer in fact than my LiteFlux LF5XT which is cool white. The beam in fact has a light yellow band surrounding the creamy white hotspot. This band blends seamlessly into the hotspot and into the surronding slightly cooler larger spill area. There is no black donut around the hotspot like with the old Q5; just the relatively wide yellow band which becomes hardly noticable at a distance of 10 feet or more.
(Sorry I am not a photographer. I wish I could give you beamshots)
Overall the smoothness of the beam is much improved over the old NDI Q5, but not quite as smooth, IMO, as the LF5XT. If it weren't for the light yellow band, I would probably say the GD was just as good.
As far as color rendition, I don't see much difference between the GD and the R2 or the Q5. They all do reasonably well except with reds, where they all seem to be lacking compared to my McGizmo Sundrop. Maximum brightness seems on the GD seems to be very close to the Q5 NDI. I used 14500 cells for all my comparisons, although I did try Eneloops to see if it caused any color shift in the outputs. It didn't.
There are some suprise improvements I didn't expect with the new Nitecore NDI:
1. There is much more aggressive knurling on the new GD NDI. I don't have a D10 with which to compare, but I'll bet it is close.
2. The threads are much improved; much smoother; now anodized. Mine was even properly lubed.
3. The contact area on the inside of the head is now like that found on the D10/Ex10. Instead of a fixed contact on the board, it has the floating brass ring contact supported by a spring. I guess this will increase the life of the light by avoiding too much direct pressure on the board and its previously fixed contact area by the tightening of the head. The only problem I found from this arrangement is it seems easier to get the light to accidentally strobe as you switch into user definded mode, particularly if you loosen the head slowly. If you always remember to loosen quickly, no problems. I twisted the ring a bit to see if this would fix this problem; no luck.
4. The switch appears the same but seems much firmer and sturdier than the old Q5 switch. Still, they give you a spare. Previously, they gave 2 spares.
5. Because the GD is much smaller than the Q5 emitter, the reflector cone seems a bit deeper since the cut out for the LED at the end of the cone is smaller,too. However, there is no noticeable difference in spill between the new and the old.
jzmtl
Flashlight Enthusiast
Hmm, could osram be the newest contender in the tint lottery?
BabyDoc
Flashlight Enthusiast
I hope not. While my beam doesn't look as cold as the GD NDI beamshot shots posted here, it could be because of limitations when it comes to photographing beams. I still have the GD D10, and EX10 coming whenever they are released. A comparison of those beams with my GD NDI will be a better indicator whether there can be consistency within the same lot of the emitters. (I am assuming that all 3 of these lights have emitters from the same BIN since they are being released almost simultaneously.)
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loanshark
Enlightened
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2007
- Messages
- 226
Well I couldn't resist... I pre-ordered a d10 gdp... I can't wait...
WadeF
Flashlight Enthusiast
My Nitecore EX10 GDP came today! Early observations, the SS bezel is a bit thicker than the one on my EX10 Cree Q5. The HA is a bit darker. The LED emitter sure is small. These things should throw like heck with a big reflector! It seems to throw better than my Cree EX10, charging up my R123's so I can take some LUX readings. The beam is much cleaner. Tint seems a bit cooler than my EX10 Cree, but I'm sure tint will vary from GDP to GDP. Was hoping for a warmer tint like the Golden Dragon in my Sylvania closet/under cabinent light, but the higher efficiency GDP's might run cooler, like the Q5/R2 Crees.
LED-holic
Flashlight Enthusiast
Ok we're waiting for lots of photos of the new EX10 GDP, and lots of beamshots!!
Beamshots!! We demand beamshots!!! Inside and outside!!!!
Beamshots!! We demand beamshots!!! Inside and outside!!!!
WadeF
Flashlight Enthusiast
Until I have a chance to take some shots, you can see beam shots here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/206141
The D10 and EX10 GDP should have the same beam.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/206141
The D10 and EX10 GDP should have the same beam.
LED-holic
Flashlight Enthusiast
Yes but WadeF, we want YOUR beamshots!! Inside and outdoors!!
And lots of gorgeous eye candy photos comparing the EX10 Q5 / GDP+ side by side. Lots of shots exposing the reflector, innards, tail, outer shell.
Because you're such a great photographer!! Even my avatar is your photo!!
And lots of gorgeous eye candy photos comparing the EX10 Q5 / GDP+ side by side. Lots of shots exposing the reflector, innards, tail, outer shell.
Because you're such a great photographer!! Even my avatar is your photo!!
WadeF
Flashlight Enthusiast
I did a quick LUX comparision. Was getting around 2,200LUX with my EX10 Cree Q5, and 2,500LUX with my EX10 GDP! While I haven't tested total output yet, the Q5 I would think would have more total output, the GDP is a slightly better thrower. Not surprising since the die is TINY.
WadeF
Flashlight Enthusiast
Here's a quick snap shot of my two EX10's. I didn't get the focus on the LED's as good as I wanted, but you get the idea. I noticed the smaller size of the GDP allows for more reflector, less is cut off when compared to the Cree Q5.
Total output is one of the big remaining questions. As of yet...no one has done a test...dispite the loss of spillbeam power...can the wider hot spot GDP make it up...equal or beat the Q5 in total lumen...the world wants to know...who is the champ.
LED-holic
Flashlight Enthusiast
Looks good so far Wade. Can't wait for more shots and info!
J.D.
Newly Enlightened
+1Yes but WadeF, we want YOUR beamshots!! Inside and outdoors!!
And lots of gorgeous eye candy photos comparing the EX10 Q5 / GDP+ side by side. Lots of shots exposing the reflector, innards, tail, outer shell.
Because you're such a great photographer!! Even my avatar is your photo!!
